RTC plans battery-powered buses for Vizag

Vishakhapatanam: APSRTC has proposed to operate 100 battery-powered public transport buses on the civic roads in order to save fuel and cut costs.

If everything goes according to plans, the buses will be operated in posh localities and tourist spots like RK beach, Kailasagiri, Simhachalam, Vizag to Rushikonda, Yarada, and Bheemili.

Since, the price of diesel is escalating on a daily basis, RTC considers that the battery-buses are the best alternative to run on the city roads.

In fact, the public utility had prepared such plans before the Covid-19 and held various negotiations with the stakeholders and reviewed the action plans of operating the buses at select places in Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati on an experimental basis.

"Yes, we have sent proposals to allocate 100 battery-operated buses to Vizag city. The proposals are at a tender stage. Covid has delayed the progress. RTC lost Rs 1.2 crore revenue per day due to Covid," a senior RTC official told Deccan Chronicle.

The proposal was recently brought to the notice of the RTC CMD Dwaraka Tirumala Rao during the latter’s visit to the city in June.

At present, Visakhapatnam region operates 956 buses daily to various routes, including 400 in the city limits on 45 routes within GVMC limits.